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Governor Kasich Signs Bill Creating Licensure for Genetic Counselors

Governor John Kasich signed HB 292 into law on June 6, 2012. The James strongly supports HB 292, introduced by Representative Anne Gonzales. The bill establishes licensure of qualified genetic counselors to ensure that Ohioans receive the advantages of personalized healthcare and genomic medicine with the least likelihood of negligent application.

Previously, there were no state regulations to prevent inadequately trained individuals from providing genetic counseling and inappropriately calling themselves genetic counselors. Licensure is the only avenue that will permit Ohio residents and their healthcare providers to easily identify practitioners who are qualified to provide competent genetic counseling.

HB 292 guarantees that genetic counselors in Ohio have obtained at minimum a master's degree from an accredited genetic counseling graduate program, are board certified and obtain continuing education to remain current with advances in the field.

Dawn Allain, MS, CGC, testified before the Ohio Health & Aging Committee in support of the bill. She was joined by Kelly Kelleher, MD, who testified as a consumer of genetic counseling services at The James.

Other News and Updates

For more information on what the OSUCCC-James's Government Affairs team is doing, check out the stories below.

2011 State and Federal Update

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